emilia's Profile
Best Pizza in N.J.
i dream about Delorenzo's white clam pie. add on some cherry peppers and you're in heaven.
Trader Joe's Harvest Vegetable Blend: Turnips, Rutabagas, & Parsnips- ideas?
thanks! i ended up mixing it up with quartered brussels sprouts, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and light dust of brown sugar to help the brussels sprouts carmelize. roasted for 30 min, was a hit at thanksgiving!
Trader Joe's Harvest Vegetable Blend: Turnips, Rutabagas, & Parsnips- ideas?
Picked up a bag of this at TJ's thinking it'd make a nice Thanksgiving side-dish, then realized I didn't know what to do with it.
Anyone have any tasty ideas/suggestions? The simpler the better. Maybe just roasting in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper?
Shopsin's.
I love shopsin's and ate there many times without incident when i lived nearby, although i did see kenny curse out a nice old woman once who poked her head in and asked what the name of the restaurant was. he was in the middle of talking about pernil with this young regular customer, who didn't seem to know what to do as kenny was outright telling the lady to go [ahem] herself. the poor young guy seemed torn between telling the woman the answer to her question or risk his dining privileges there forever. he chose to keep his mouth shut.
as mean as it was to the old lady...i have to say, looking back on that day, it was kind of hilarious.
you're fine at shopsins as long as you're not annoyingly picky, asking for substitutions and special circumstances and whatnot. the food's worth it.
Recs for Casual Outdoor Group Birthday Celebration or Picnic?
Hey chowhounds!
Recent NY-hound transplant, celebrating my 33rd birthday here in LA. Looking for a casual place to have an outdoor Saturday lunchtime gathering w/ about 15 friends with excellent food and good drinks-- but not necessarily a sit-down meal (eg, people can rove in and out). Hoping entrees are $15-20/pp. No limitations on type of food, as long as it's great.
My original idea was to have a BYO picnic at Malibu Wines, but they don't allow kids, which doesn't work as there are 2 toddlers in the party. Preferably it would be someplace closer too (I'm in mid-Wilshire) but I think most people are willing to travel if it's a great place.
Here are the requirements:
Casual
Outdoor patio
Large groups
Any location, but awesome if on the ocean.
Ideally, I'd love to have a casual gathering at a beachside place where people can come and go. I've heard about Paradise Cove, but how's the cost? Here are a few other places we've come up with:
Cafe Habana Malibu
Pane e Vino
Cliff's Edge
Enterprise Fish & Seafood
Dominick's
I've combed the LA boards but can't seem to find something that fits this description. Picnic areas or bbq areas that you can suggest would be helpful too.
Thank you!!!
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Cliff's Edge
3626 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Pane e Vino
8265 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Habana
2930 Bristol St Ste A110, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Your favorite recipes using Trader Joe's products
i love those lentils! my super-quick healthy lunch of choice: warm up the lentils and put them on top of baby spinach or frisee and whatever veggies I have in the fridge (usually red onion and cherry tomatoes). then I fry an egg sunny side up and put it on top of the lentils so it oozes out and coats the salad when you break the yolk. drizzle with balsamic vinegar & cracked black pepper.
New Yorker in LA looking for the best Indian, Chinese, and Pizza! Where do ex-NYers eat??
yeesh. this topic is always ripe for east vs. west coast snark.
i'm a recently relocated NYer and ravenous hounder of the east village and have found a few faves here:
PIZZA: Mozza (closer to otto, keste or motorino); there's also a Two Boots in silver lake if you want some of that old orleans charm, and i personally kinda like La Rocco's in Culver City off Main St., where you can grab a slice. Cali pizza is different than old school NY slices (no fold em and scarf as you walk down the street; plus the crust seems denser) but there are good spots, though i''ve yet to find a Grimaldi's type place here.
Italian in general: i love Angelini Osteria & Caffe Angelli. Both have great pasta.
CHINESE: NY-style Chinese (what I think of as Seinfeld Chinese) has turned into its own unique thing over the years. Overall the chinese i've had here far surpasses what i've had in NY, both in chinatown and flushing. in NY, chinatown is more fuxianese & canto-style, while flushing used to be more taiwanese. here, there are similar, better and more authentic taiwanese spots in the SGV (though look elsewhere on the board for specific recs), monterey park, alhambra, etc.
Indian - i never liked those spots on 6th St, but i do like Samosa House here in Culver, for the chaat (which reminds of some Curry Hill spots).
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Angelini Osteria
7313 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Samosa House
11510 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA
Two Boots
1818 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Main St Cafe
450 Main St, El Segundo, CA 90245
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
thanks everyone! i ended up at Morini. It was excellent! Started with the arugula salad w/ shaved parm & mushroom, and I had the stracce (sp?) ribbon pasta w/ braised porcini mushrooms. it was amazing and perfectly glazed with probably a ton of butter-- but that's why it tasted so good. my friend had the ricotta gnocchi with prosciutto - also yummy, but a little more expected. overall, an excellent experience aside from the service, which was a little uneven. we had at least 4 people work our table, and the guy who took our order was brusque. easily overlooked because of the quality of the food, however.
meant to also hit up xi'an & maialino but ran out of time and stomach space. did have some other wonderful dinners at other faves like crispo, bouchon, stage diner, teany, bamiyan, sigiri, congee village, orlin, & freemans, so i can safely say i had my share of ny nostalgia. thanks, all!
Pre-wedding brunch that's not too expensive?
thanks AYSC. I like Toast but i think we're looking a little more upscale than that. It's got that very casual diner-y feel and not quite right for special occasion.
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
@renguin - thanks! will put morini on the list.
@xerxesAB - i like malatesta & both Frankies 17 / spuntino & their sister prime meats restaurant. looking for something like that or al di la, but new, either in bk or downtown. how is brooklyn fare, and i've also heard sthg about pies n thighs? (though, i know, technically not new)
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
wow, thank you kathryn!
i lived in the E Village / LES for many years so i'm already a big fan of Lupa, Russ & Daughters, Crif, Keste, Motorino, Pearl, Momofuku, 2 Little Red Hens (from my stint on the UES), and of course the pickles. all fantastic suggestions!
as for batali, i love me some mozza but IMHO babbo is still the gold standard for me, with lupa and esca a close second. otto i've never been to b/c it was so crowded every time, but maybe i'l swing by this time around.
i've heard about Luke's (a recent opening, so right up my alley) but my lobster roll expectations are set by cape cod standards...worth it? any other suggestions like this?
have also heard about the new opening of xi'an, is this the same thing that used to be in flushing?
and thank you for all the nosh tours leads! great info!
ps. loved keste over motorino. any new pizza places worth checking out?
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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012
Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002
Motorino
349 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
those strong considers are good enough for me. will try to make both maialino & morini. thanks ml77!
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
thanks, GoS!
sorry, clarification -- i meant other new restaurants serving different cuisines, not just italian (it's just that i've found pretty awesome thai, korean, latin/ mexican, ethiopian, local/californian/greenmarket, japanese, persian, etc. in LA so Italian is my focus). i'm sure new dumpling/noodle places have also opened in the E Village that are worth trying.
i've been to lupa and spigolo and know of scarpetta...but am wondering about the newest ventures to open over the past 2 years that i haven't tried yet? i know brooklyn lately has been popping up new restaurants too. ps. i have also checked Eater & NY Mag's best of 2010 list but would like the chowhounder's input.
thanks!
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
I've searched the boards but can't seem to find what i'm looking for.
I've got one glorious week here to dine to my heart's content in my old hood, and want to know what are the best new openings from this past year or so that I've missed out on since I moved to LA.
Specifically, I'm looking for outstanding Italian since LA isn't really up to par, but am open to other new cuisines as well. Cheap to midrange, (
Thanks!
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Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Pre-wedding brunch that's not too expensive?
cool! i'll suggest both tavern & campanile and see what the couple prefers. looking forward to eating at either. thank you all for your suggestions -- if anyone else has anymore, please keep em coming!
Pre-wedding brunch that's not too expensive?
waterloo looks great, but i think the menu may not have enough veg options for their sunday lunch. most main courses and egg dishes have meat. however, i will definitely file for my own future eating purposes ;)
Pre-wedding brunch that's not too expensive?
Hi hounders,
Newish to LA so your advice would be greatly appreciated. I need some help finding a good spot to host a small brunch for my friends who are about to get married. There will only be 5 of us, but I wanted to find a place that takes reservations with a nice atmosphere & is slightly more upscale (eg, no ordering at the counter), yet avg brunch entree
We're all coming from around mid-city/west hollywood so around there would be great, but can travel for excellent food. The soon-to-be married couple are mostly vegetarian, but we don't need a veg. restaurant, as long as there are options (however, this rules out Jar for having too few options)
Some thoughts are:
-Tavern (but i've heard mixed reviews on the brunch?)
-Gjelina (but seems to be communal tables?)
-Campanile (i've heard a lot but never been; i know the atmosphere is nice but how's the food?)
ps: we love Square One but would prefer something a little more upscale. Didn't love the brunch at BLD so much. Little Dom's brunch was just ok. Mozza is booked.
please help...thanks!
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BLD Restaurant
7450 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Where can I find steamed Chinese buns?
agreed. last time i made my (very well received!) david chang-style gua bao, i used the frozen ones from one of the big asian supermarkets and steamed them. my guests were none the wiser-- all gua bao's gone in a matter of minutes ;)
ISO Venezuelan style arepas in LA
i love that sauce! the last time i went back, they'd started selling it for $8/bottle. not bad, although i'd probably go through one of those in about 2 days.
those arepas are one of the few things that i haven't been able to find successfully here in LA since i moved here from NY. now when i visit NY i try to get my fill of arepas & italian/pizza since i can't find comparable stuff here.
i'll try bolivar & coupa, thanks for the suggestions!
ISO Venezuelan style arepas in LA
I'm looking for Venezuelan style arepas (not Colombian) like they serve at one of my favorite East Village NY restaurants, Caracas.
They are made of white cornmeal and usually stuffed with delicious fillings like plantains, pernil, beans, cheese, etc.
Can they be found anywhere in the LA area?
Thanks!
Ex-NY Hound Returning from LA for Weekend Visit
hi all!
o how i've missed the NY boards...
i'm heading back to my old hood of the East Village/LES in NY for the weekend after having moved to LA a year ago and am really excited to hit up some of my old spots just for nostalgia's sake: Frank, Supper, Clinton St. Bake Shop, Caracas, Ciao for Now, Sigiri, Congee Vilage, Cafe Orlin, Barrio Chino, etc.
Just wondering if anyone has suggestions for new spots that have opened in the area (or even beyond...below 14th St) that are a chow must-try that i've missed out on over the past year? pizza, italian, nouveau american, seafood, etc? low to mid price range.
ps. As far as LA vs. NY, i'm still a NY purist, although there are certain things now that I won't bother getting in NY anymore b/c LA surprisingly does it well if not better-- sushi, thai, viet, ethiopian, mexican, salvadoran.
pizza, italian, american, and high end though - NY is still king.
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Barrio Chino
253 Broome St, New York, NY 10002
Cafe Orlin
41 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
Sigiri
91 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003
Congee
98 Bowery, New York, NY 10013
Ciao for Now
523 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
am i missing out on something? is rockenwagner the place that does all the pretzel-related breads? the 3 times i've had it has been kind of dry and disappointing.
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
4 times into Angelli, and i've grown to love it even more every single time! the spaghetti alla checca (sp?) reminds me of the stuff i ate often in rome too, and i daydream about the gnocchi of the day. all throughout KCRW's summer membership drive i kept hoping that evan kleinman would announce some kind of angelli deal, but no such luck...
Moving to West Hollywood
i second meals by genet; i also love Merkato, right across the street for more homestyle cooking, if you happen to go on a monday or tuesday (meals by genet is only open wed-sun)
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Merkato
1036 1 2 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
ciaobob,
i tried yabu and sushi-zo (is this different than k-zo?). the place i went was omakase only and reeeally expensive. it was in palms (close to culver) and in a strip mall right by a starbucks?
both were phenomenal. yabu i really liked as an everyday sushi joint- really fresh stuff, fantastic eel. the omakase place was even better-- but the bill was a $300 for two of us. eep.
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
finally tried Jitlada yesterday. After about an hour-long wait, my hungry friends and I ordered the Coco Mango salad, the steamed green mussels, the fried basil & soft shell crab, the spicy-as-hell-beef-dry-curry dish (jonathan gold & the waitress's rec), & a tofu pad si-iew.
The mussels & Coco Mango were phenomenal. Both the perfect balance of spice and tart and tang, and the broth for the mussels was a table favorite.
Where we started to suffer was the basil soft shell crab. It was good, but so incredibly fried (and i don't often too much fried food) that my companions didn't touch much. Then came the curry beef, which we'd asked for a mild "2" (of 5) hotness rating knowing that Southern Thai is known for its heat. The 2 was like a 6. And I'm not a spice wimp. I love my chili and spice on all kinds of food. I enjoyed it, but it was the type of heat that I've become a wimp about as i've grown older-- the type that radiates a slow burn throughout your mouth, and no matter how much water, rice, cucumber or thai ice tea you drink, manages to stop all enjoyment or taste of the dish. The curry, or what i could gather of its taste between my sips of water, was good, and the beef was tender-- but my companions had only 2 pieces and ate no more.
Pad si-ew was standard and good.
Today, all of our stomachs have been roiling. I ran into friends at the restaurant and they told me they've been having the same (it was also their first time.) I don't think it was bad food, but i do think it was because we were unaccustomed to such levels of spiciness, in combination w/ the extreme friedness.
In all, I'm still glad i went, and I'd gladly go back, but i'd probably not order the same things, and would try some of the other, less spicy dishes. Thanks for the rec!
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
clyde, i tried Angelli Cafe last week with a friend who i used to live in Rome with years ago. We'd been on an eternal search for the basic, simple pastas we used to live on in the trattorias over there, especially a decent penne arrabbiatta. happy to say that Angelli's stood up pretty well to our test. yum! the service was spotty, but it didn't matter- with the awesome bread and the arrabbiatta (complete with enough spice, garlic, and parsley) we were both pretty happy. plus got a few bites of her boyfriend's butternut squash lasagna. not something i'd normally order, but it was buttery and delish. i'll definitely be back when i'm craving some standard, fresh simple italian. (though i wasn't the biggest fan of the caprese salad-- very non-traditional and the roasted tomatoes / olives threw me off.)
Clueless NY Hound Transplant Needs LA Help!
if that's the case, then i'm glad it happened to be closed when i went for breakfast on CH recommendation monday (for Pres day i suppose it was closed). guess i'll skip it next time around.
i ended up at Bottega Louie, where i had some rockin french toast and a fantastic farmers market brunch (although the eggs were overpoached w/ fully cooked yolks).
Current Favorite Dish/Item for Less than $10?
which reminds me of my favorite sandwich at wichcraft: the chopped chickpea. maybe it was because i had tons of free chopped chickpea sandwiches at Tribeca Film Fest ('wichcraft was a sponsor in the media lounge) and it got to my head, but whatever they put in them is amazing. and i think about $8/ a pop.
as for oatmeal, i'm a big fan of the oatmeal at the Bagel Zone on Ave A / 5th street, which might now be called The Native Bean. It's the only place I've found oatmeal w/ fresh (not dried) cranberries, blueberries, bananas, walnuts, and honey. amazing. i think it comes out to about $5 or slightly more w/ steamed milk. Also comes in a couscous version.
another decent and cheap oatmeal is at Ciao for Now, on 12th between A and B, for roughly $6. But definitely more run of the mill, and with less of that Moroccan twist that Bagel Zone has.
Current Favorite Dish/Item for Less than $10?
if we're doing underrated slices, the sicilian slice at Vinny Vincenz in the East Village, straight out of the oven, is rockin.
